11/18/2010 @ 9:40AM

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The Forbes Post

This year’s FORBES list of the World’s Most Powerful People is out with a twist, ranking Chinese President Hu Jintao at number one, above U.S. President Barack Obama.

Is Hu really deserving of the title of the World’s Most Powerful?

That question brings us to how power works in China, which is no simple or transparent matter. One argument for suggesting Hu is more powerful than Obama is that Hu doesn’t have to contend with those annoying artifacts of democracy like Congress, an independent judiciary, an uncensored media and voting by common citizens. But in contrast to Obama’s vast executive powers, Hu (whose title that matters most is not president but general secretary of the Communist Party of China) cannot decide the important matters of state and party on his own. He has to contend with other powerful factions as one of nine members of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee.

Today’s leaders of China don’t have the kind of singular power that their famous Communist Party predecessors did. Instead, it is the Communist Party system that is powerful and bends men to its ethos and principles, rather than the other way around. That does not mean personalities don’t matter, but it may be more accurate to say that as a collective, China’s Politburo Standing Committee may be the most powerful “person” in the world.

The Conversation It Sparked . . .

Forbes Commenter jwf208

Power rankings are difficult to assess . . . individually Hu isn’t all that powerful. Mr. Epstein is right in pointing out that Hu must carefully navigate through the internal factions and gain consensus with the other eight members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Overall I think this is probably still “easier” than going through the quagmire of a political process with Congress, courts, independent media, etc., but it is misleading to treat Hu as a dictator. Someone who really has no constraints in exercising power, I would argue, is Kim Jong-il. I’m surprised he didn’t make the list.

Gady Epstein

Kim Jong-il did make the list, though he comes in lower than you might expect for a true dictator, at number 31 (just below China’s sovereign fund chief, Lou Jiwei). The reasoning here is clearly that the country Kim controls is not at the center of world affairs like China is.

Forbes Commenter wojtekplichta

I would rank most Chinese figures higher than their western equivalents. Take into account all the limitations and influences that the latter have to deal with: Congress, party, media, public, lobbyists, election systems, etc. Aren’t these far bigger limitations?

Gady Epstein

Obama has to get elected, true, and he has to convince Congress to pass legislation, but the executive powers that he has are for him to wield alone. That is not true for Hu. That said, Obama is at this moment not a particularly strong president (see midterm elections). And the country he presides over is struggling. But my vote is that Hu’s power is too constrained, and the influence of the U.S. remains too formidable, to merit putting him above the U.S. President.